English-Language Spelling Pattern Generalizations

1. Don't make rules/generalizations the emphasis of phonics instruction.

2. Teach only those rules/generalizations with the most utility.
3. Emphasize applying the rules/generalizations rather than verbalizing them.
4. Teach the rules/generalizations at a point when children can best understand and apply them.
5. Never teach rules as absolutes.
adapted from Wiley Blevins, p. 175

Short vowels
Phoneme Common Frequency of Placement Sample words
Spelling(s) spelling B M E
Generalizations
[Short a] When a is preceded by w in a word or syllable, the sound of the vowel may
add, cat, spasm (want, be other than the short or long vowel sound generally associated with that letter.
// a 96% X X
wasp, wash) When a is followed by either the sound /l/ or a silent l in single-syllable words, the a
is pronounced /aw/.

e 91% X X bed, edge, indelible [Short e]

head, deaf, tear,
// The spelling "ea" can be pronounced three ways. Remember the sentence, "Eat a
ea 4% X threat, instead,
great brea kfast," to recall the ways it can be pronounced.
dreadful
// i 66% X X if, big, still, frigid [Short i] English words do not end in "i"

odd, fox, toggle (wolf, [Short o] When o is preceded by w in a word or syllable, the sound of the vowel may
// o 79% X X
woman) be other than the short or long vowel sound generally associated with that letter.

// u 86% X X up, cut, combustion [Short u]

 English-Language Spelling Pattern Generalizations

Consonants
Phoneme Common Frequency of Placement Sample words
Spelling(s) spelling B M E
Generalizations
bat, bread, jab,
/b/ b 97% X X
carbohydrate
cat, crab, cotton, cut,
c 73% X When c comes before a, o, u, or a consonant, it makes the "hard" /k/ sound.
biscuit
Use ck at the end of a word or syllable when there is an accented short vowel spelled
with a single letter directly before it. The digraph ck always follows a short vowel
ck 6% X stick, track, locket
sound. When adding endings, the spelling ck is substituted for cc if the following letter
is an e, i, or y (picnicking, frolicked).
ketchup, kill, Kyle,
/k/ is spelled k before e, i, or y, or after a consonant, long vowel, or vowel
k 13% X X Kyoto, bark, take,
/k/ sneak
combination. The consonant k is never doubled in English.

raccoon, occupy,
cc X Sometimes the letter c must be doubled to protect the sound of a short vowel.
hiccups
school, chord, anchor, Ch can stand for the single consonant sound /k/ in words derived from the Greek
ch 3% X X
character, chrome language. Ch before another consonant is usually pronounced /k/.

Used in rare cases at the end of words, _que is usually used only in words of French
__que X unique, oblique
origin. _que must be preceeded by another letter in order to make the /k/ sound.

dog, drip, led, friend,

d 98% X X
hard
/d/ roamed, cried; rented,
_ed is an inflectional ending indicating past tense. When a base word ends in a voiced
__ed X sound, the past tense will be voiced /d/. However, when a base word ends in /t/ or
ended /d/, the past tense will be the syllable /ed/.

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 English-Language Spelling Pattern Generalizations
Phoneme Frequency ofPlacement Sample words
Common Generalizations
Spelling(s) spelling
food, flat, golf, sniff, The letter f is almost always doubled when it comes at the end of a one-syllable word
f 78% X X
defend and is preceded by one short vowel (FLOSS rule).
"Ph" is a consonant digraph in which the two letters produce one sound, /f/; it used in
ph 12% X X physician, graph
words of Greek origin.
_gh is used to spell /f/ at the end of a few words. It must be preceeded by another
__gh X laugh, tough
/f/ letter in order to make the /f/ sound.

__lf X half, calf This spelling is used in rare cases at the ends of words following // spelled a.

game, gone, gulf, get, The spelling g followed by a, o, or u makes the hard /g/ sound. When followed by e
/g/ g 88% X X
giddy, tag, tugboat or i, it sometimes makes the /g/ sound and sometimes the /j/ sound.
(hard g)
This spelling is used in rare cases at the beginning of words. It must be followed by
gh__ X ghost, ghoul
another letter in order to make the /g/ sound.
/h/ hound, horseback, h must be followed by another letter, usually a vowel, in order to make the aspirated
h__ 98% X
(aspirated) dehydrate sound /h/.
j 22% X judge, injury English words do not end in "j". The letter j is never doubled in English.
Use -dge to represent /j/ at the ends of words or syllables if there is a single,
dge 5% X badge, dodge, ridge
accented, short vowel directly before it.
Use -ge to represent the "soft g" sound /j/ at the ends of words after a consonant;
sponge, cage, village,
/j/ ge X X after a long vowel sound; and after an unaccented schwa. The -ge spelling can also
gent, agent, gem come at the beginning of a word or syllable.
88%
gi__ X giraffe, giant The spelling gi_ can make the soft g /j/ sound. It must be followed by another letter.

g(y) X X gym, edgy, spongy The spelling _gy at the end of a word uses the soft g /j/ sound.
loop, lion, elephant, The letter l is almost always doubled when it comes at the end of a one-syllable word
/l/ l 91% X X
dental, pull, will and is preceded by one short vowel (FLOSS rule).
little, handle, able, _le is a final stable syllable. If the vowel sound is short, there must be two consonants
_le X
needle between the vowel and the _le. Otherwise, one consonant is enough.

/m/ m 94% X X mad, stream, pump

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 English-Language Spelling Pattern Generalizations
Phoneme Common Frequency of Sample words
Spelling(s) spelling Placement
Generalizations
B M E
mb X lamb, bomb, crumb This spelling is used in rare cases at ends of words.

mn X autumn This spelling is used in rare cases at ends of words.

no, nest, hinder, pan,
n 97% X X
craftsman
/n/
kn __ must be followed by a letter, usually a vowel, and cannot come at the end of a
kn__ <1% X know, knight
word or syllable.
This is used in rare cases at beginning of words. It must be followed by another letter,
gn__ X gnaw, gnu
usually a vowel.

/p/ p 96% X X popcorn, flap, stripe

q is never written without a u following it. The qu_ spelling must be followed by
/kw/ qu__ 97% X quiet, quick
another letter in order to make the /kw/ sound.
r 97% X X rob, rabbit, car, startle
/r/ wr__ must be followed by a letter, usually a vowel, and may not come at the end of a
wr__ X wren, wrestle, wrap
word.
The letter s is almost always doubled when it comes at the end of a one-syllable word
s 73% X X sign, sit, master, loss
and is preceded by one short vowel (FLOSS rule).
ce X X center, bounce The c in ce makes the soft c /s/ sound.

ci__ 17% X city, citrus The c in ci_ makes the soft c /s/ sound. ci_ must be followed by another letter.
/s/
c(y) X X cyclone, juicy The c in c(y) makes the soft c /s/ sound.

sc__ X scythe, scent This spelling is used in rare cases at the beginning of words.
This spelling is used in rare cases at the beginning of words, usually words of Greek
ps__ X psychology, psycho
origin.
t 97% X X time, statistic, hint
/t/ _ed is an inflectional ending indicating past tense. When a base word ends in a
__ed X barked, hissed
voiceless sound, the past tense will be the voiceless /t/.

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 English-Language Spelling Pattern Generalizations
Phoneme Common Frequency of Sample words
Spelling(s) spelling Placement
Generalizations
B M E
The consonant v is never doubled in English. A final /v/ is always spelled ve, no matter
/v/ v 99.50% X X vase, have
what the preceding vowel sound may be: hence, have, give, love.
w __ must be followed by a letter, usually a vowel, in order to make the /w/ sound.
/w/ w__ 92% X will, want, sideways
The consonant w is never doubled in English.
/ks/ (also _x must be preceded by a short vowel sound in order for x to make the /ks/ sound.
x 90% X box, axe
The consonant x is never doubled in English.
/gz/)

y__ 44% X yellow, backyard, yoyo y must be followed by a letter, usually a vowel, in order to make the /y/ sound.
/y/
i 55% X onion, opinion
zipper, ozone, buzz, The spelling z is usually used at the beginning of a word. It is usually doubled (zz) at
z 23% X X
fizz the end of a word.

/z/
__s 64% X as, was, his, glows

a 45% X X alligator, able [Long a]

a__e 35% X X grate, snake, ate The long a sound spelled a_e must be followed by a consonant sound.

// ai__ 9% X X ail, bait The long a sound spelled ai_ must be followed by a consonant sound.
The long a sound spelled _ay must be preceded by a consonant sound. It is the most
__ay 6% X stay, gray, daybreak
common spelling for // at the end of words.
The spelling "ea" can be pronounced three ways. Remember the sentence, "Eat a
ea X steak, break
great breakfast," to recall the ways it can be pronounced.
// e 70% X X even, be, relief [Long e]

e__e X X evening, secede, mere The long e sound spelled e_e must be followed by a consonant sound.

ee 6% X X X eel, heel, tee

The spelling "ea" can be pronounced three ways. Remember the sentence, "Eat a
ea 6% X X X east, wheat, tea
great breakfast," to recall the ways it can be pronounced.
When y follows a consonant at the end of a word with more than one syllable, it
__y 41% X nearly, heavy stands for //, unless the accent is on the last syllable. When used before another
vowel, y says // (embryo).

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 English-Language Spelling Pattern Generalizations
Phoneme Common Frequency of Sample words
Spelling(s) spelling Placement
Generalizations
B M E
The vowel i is pronounced // when i is followed by a different vowel sound in a
abbreviate, obedient, suffix. When // precedes a vowel suffix, it is usually spelled with the letter i. When i
i X
bacterial, unique is before que or gue , the i is pronounced //, since they are French spellings
borrowed by English.
i 37% X idle, identity, iconic [Long i]
This spelling must be followed by a consonant sound. It cannot be used at the end of
i__e 37% X X ice, dime
a syllable.
igh X X slight, sigh

// is spelled y at the end of one-syllable words. When y comes at the end of a two-
// __y 14% X my, sty, fry, apply
syllable word and the accent is on the last syllable, it makes the sound //.

__ie X lie, pie, necktie The long i sound spelled _ie must be preceeded by a consonant.

o 73% X X X open, host, tomato [Long o]

o__e 14% X X ode, rope, atone The long o sound spelled o_e must be followed by a consonant sound.

__oe X doe, floe The long o sound spelled _oe must be preceeded by a consonant.
//
__ow 5% X X bowl, crow, stow, flown _ow is sometimes pronounced // when followed by l or n.

The long o sound spelled oa_ must be followed by a consonant in order to make the
oa__ 5% X X oat, groan
// sound.
u 69% X X pupil, student

u__e 21% X X abused, mute

// [Long u] These spellings represent // pronounced /y//.
__ew 3% X X newt, few

__ue X due

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 English-Language Spelling Pattern Generalizations

Diphthongs and Digraphs

Phoneme Common Frequency of Sample words
Spelling(s) spelling Placement
Generalizations
B M E
Use ch at the beginning of a word (chip) . Use ch after a consonant (punch). Use
ch 55% X X chip, punch, beach
ch after a vowel pair (beach).

/ch/ t__ 31% X feature, denture used in some final stable syllables

Use tch at the end of a word or syllable if there is a single short vowel directly before
tch 11% X stitch, stretch, latch
it.
The spelling th represents two sounds: the voiced th as in this , and the unvoiced th
/th/ th 100% X X that, thin, bath, bathe
as in thin .
When the letter i follows c, s, ss, sc, or t in the last part of a word, it is usually silent
ti 53% X action, motion
and indicates that these graphemes represent /sh/.
sh 26% X X ship, dish

/sh/
chef, chic, brochure,
ch X Words influenced by French use the ch spelling for /sh/.
chandelier

su_ X treasure, leisure When the letter s is followed by y, i, or u in the middle of a word, it may be
/zh/
si_ 49% X fusion, vision pronounced /zh/ or /sh/. Try /zh/ first.

ng 59% X singing, wrong This spelling always follows a short vowel.

/ng/
n 41% X X monkey, junk

The sound /hw/ spelled wh_ has an aspirated h sound at the beginning. When wh_
/hw/ wh__ 100% X where, whiz, whipped
comes before the letter o , only the /h/ is pronounced (as in whole ).

/ar/ ar 89% X X X art, bark, star, tar When ar follows a w , it makes the sound /or/, as in war, warm, wart.
ergonomically, stern,
/er/ er 40% X X X er is the most popular spelling of all the r -controlled vowels.
number

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 English-Language Spelling Pattern Generalizations
Phoneme Common Frequency of Sample words
Spelling(s) spelling B
Placement
M E
Generalizations
ir can represent /ear/ when another r follows ir , as in irrigate, or when a vowel
ir X X X irk, bird, fir
other than e immediately follows the ir, as in iridescence.
ur X X X urgent, gurgle, fur

/or/ or 97% X X X organ, fork, lore, for When or follows w , it makes the sound of er, as in worm, word, work.
The vowel diphthong/oi/ spelled oi is usually used in the intital and medial positions
oi 62% X X oil, devoid
of words.
/oy/ The vowel diphthong /oi/ spelled oy is usually used in the final position of words. The
__oy 32% X boy, employ
sound /oi/ spelled _oy must be preceeded by a consonant.
oo 31% X book, foot, wood Think of the word footstool to remember both sounds for oo.
//
u 61% X put, bull
oops, spool, drool, cool,
oo 38% X X X Think of the word footstool to remember both sounds for oo.
boo
u__e 8% X flute, dude

u 21% X X truth, flu

__ew X X brew, steward

/oo/ These spellings represent /oo/ pronounced //, not /y/oo/. The sound /oo/ spelled
u_e must be followed by a consonant. The spellings _ew and _ue must be preceeded
by consonants in order to make the /oo/ sound.
__ue X glue, undue

saw, guffaw, fawn, Use aw when you hear /aw/ at the end of a base word. Use aw when you hear /aw/
aw X X X
crawl and it is followed by a final n or l in the base word.
/aw/
Use au when you hear /aw/ at the beginning or in the middle of a word. Use au
au__ X X augment, audit, fraud
when you hear /aw/ and it is followed by an n or l anywhere in the word.
owl, crown, bow (of a The vowel diphthong /ow/ spelled ow usually comes in the final position of words,
ow 29% X X X
boat), tower but often followed by l, n, or er.
/ou/
ou__ 56% X X out, about, ground The vowel diphthong /ow/ spelled ou_ is the most frequent medial spelling for /ou/.

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 English-Language Spelling Pattern Generalizations
Resources
Blevins, Wiley. Phonics From A to Z: A Practical Guide. New York: Scholastic Teaching Resources, 2006. Print.
Moats, Louisa. Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes, 2004. Print.
Moats, Louisa. Spellography for Teachers: How English Spelling Works. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. Boston: Sopris West, 2009. Print. LETRS.

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